


Frozen in Time

by imnotaleo



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Good Parent Grace Hargreeves, I fucking love robomom, I used him as my MUSE, I wrote this instead of doing school work, No Smut, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Protective Siblings, Reader Has Powers, Reader Needs a Hug, Reader is Number Eight, Reader is a Child, Reader-Insert, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Swearing, Tags May Change, Team as Family, They are not happy about it, They're basically Hawks from mha, Time Travel, You are welcome, ben needs a hug, hehe, no cap, reader is the baby of the group now, tags will change, theyre siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28165524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotaleo/pseuds/imnotaleo
Summary: Reader is Number EightAs part of the Hargreeves family, chaos should be your middle name. Of course, it only took Five fucking up time travel for the self fulfilling prophecy to occur. Maybe it was a family curse? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong?Unexpectedly dropping into 2019 with an impending apocalypse seemed to prove your theory of a curse. How on earth will you catch up on everything you missed? Will they leave you behind?
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Reader, Klaus Hargreeves & Reader, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Reader, The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) & Reader, Vanya Hargreeves & Reader
Kudos: 27





	1. Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> I AM ALIVE?!? 
> 
> Finals have bee absolutely wrecking my ass. My dad is all healthy now! I was tested and everyone in my family is now negative and healthy. With everything wrapping up, I have been using this time to get my shit together.
> 
> I had an idea tho.... And I had to write it out.......
> 
> Enjoy!!

Saying that Five fucked up time travel was a bit of an understatement… 

Waking up today was the same as it always was. There was a deafening alarm, followed by the shouting of your adopted siblings. 

“(Name) it’s time to get up!” Grace, your adopted robo-mom, called from your doorframe. She had a soft smile on her face. Her blonde hair and makeup were perfect. Designed to be a perfect mother to you and your siblings. A normal kid would probably find her plastic-covered metal arms cold. However, you and your siblings were far from normal. Aside from the other children in the house, Grace honestly felt like the only person who gave a shit about you. Grace left to check on the others after you showed signs of waking up. The agitated voice of your adopted-bajillionaire-father filled the silence of Grace’s absence. That, unfortunately, signalled the end of your laziness for the day. 

You pulled yourself out of bed and begrudgingly got changed. Maybe, if you were lucky, Luther wouldn’t need your power for anything. After all, it was pretty useless. You hung out with Klaus and Ben on most of your missions. The three of you never wanted to participate in the missions, despite being raised to be “superheros”. Of course, being your father’s number one, Luther always tried to find ways to include the three of you. Usually, he could only find a bunch of trapped criminals for Ben to slaughter. Seeing a blood soaked Ben shakily wipe his face with a towel was awful. You often spent night after night sneaking into Ben’s room and comforting him from the nightmares that your father overlooked. Speaking of your father, he was giving everyone a mission briefing over the speakers. Half-listening to him, you tied your shoes and stretched your muscles to get rid of any stiffness or aches. 

Apparently, the mission was a run-of-the-mill scientist gone mad. Probably threatening to destroy the world. Hopefully, it would only take Number One, Two, Three and Five to take the Dr. Evil down. To be fair, you wouldn’t be much help anyways. Being eleven years old with two wings, both of which had to be at least your size, attached to your back essentially made you a walking target. Usually, you provided reconnaissance to the others. You had slightly better vision than the average human and, being trained in stealth with Diego, you were pretty damn sneaky. To be fair, you only ever used this to sneak away from everyone when you needed some alone time. 

Much to your chagrin, you only had to provide Number One and Three with a layout of the shitty apartment building that Dr. I-can’t-even-remember-his-name was hiding out in. All of the others, aside from Number Seven, your sister Vanya, evacuated civilians. Once done with your part, you sat with her and your father on a rooftop across the street. Vanya, although you didn’t quite understand her, was a sweetheart. You adored her music and always loved to talk with her about books.

“When can we go home?” You asked your father with a sigh, to be honest, you really just wanted to go back to sleep. 

“Number Eight.” Your fathers stern voice began to scold you. To be fair, you never really expected him to answer you. He tended to ignore you most of the time. “If you want this mission to be completed fast, why don’t you go in there and help your siblings?” Of course, he always knew exactly how to shut you up. You could feel your stomach knot up in anger. To be fair, you knew that you were annoying as hell. Daddy dearest probably regretted spending what he did to adopt you from your parents. 

Finally, the mission was over. It took hours and it was boring as hell. Once stepping into the mansion, you were hoping to get away from everyone. Grace had different plans however, she had lunch ready for everyone upon your return. Deciding to be a little shit, you took a seat beside Five. Typically, you all sat in numerical order. But, you were still bubbling with anger and will take any little petty win that you can. Five always understood your anger towards your father. You always went to him when you needed to blow off some steam and he did the same with you. Usually, that resulted in sneaking out and getting donuts down the road, late night venting or sparring. In the last week, you’ve had Five teleport into your room at least three times to spew out his ideas about time travel. He was getting restless about not being allowed to time travel. Five was so sure that he could do it. Your dad had forbidden it. You knew there was no way that Five would back off. He was way too stubborn for that.

You were well aware that you were buying your time. Five was going to snap and try time travel. You would never in good conscience allow Five to go out there alone. You had made your decision around the second time that five burst into your room. When the day came, you would go with him. Five always wanted to do everything alone. His pride was most definitely going to be his downfall. You could see right through it. You had a slight feeling that your father could as well. 

When your father made it into the room. He sent a glare your way at your obvious disobedience but surprisingly ignored you. You shifted in your chair and tried to hide the ruffle of the feathers on your back. Five must have been paying attention because he sent you a comforting look. You couldn’t help but smile at his reassurance. As most of your “family” dinners went, everything was silent and awkward. Alison and Luther were making goo-goo eyes at each other. Five was deep in thought. Diego was fiddling with his knife. Klaus was most-likely rolling a joint. Vanya, Ben and yourself were just attempting to get through this lunch without an outburst. Of course, you would never be so lucky.

Five, slowly growing more tense with every tick of the damn clock behind your father. It didn’t take very long for Five to stand up and voice his thoughts. This was it. He is going to do it. You zoned out from his outburst to take a look at your siblings. You loved them despite how much some of them got on your nerves, you would honestly give anything to see them happy. But, Five came before them. He was your best friend and you were probably the only person he really opened up to. You owed him for all the late nights you spent crying in anger over Luther or your father. 

When Five rose to his feet and marched off towards the door. You followed suit. Throwing out a “be right back” towards your family. Your heart thumped with every step towards Fives fuming figure. 

  
“Five.” You called as you pushed through The Umbrella Academy doors. He didn’t slow down his pace and was balling his fists in anger. “Five!”

“What?” You couldn’t hide the slight flinch you felt as he turned sharply on his heel. You could see it in his eyes. No turning back now. 

“You’re gonna try it?” You stated the obvious, he only shook his head and smirked.

“Not ‘try’. I’m gonna ‘do’ it.” Five turned his back on you and attempted to move away from you. You grabbed a hold of his wrist before he could get away. “You can’t stop me from doing this (Name).” 

“I know.”

“What are you doing then?” 

“I’m coming with you.”

“No. No way.”   
  


“You’re not doing this alone Five.” You huffed in annoyance, two can play at the stubborn game. “You have no idea what to expect, no idea what the future is gonna be like. I’m coming with you. That’s final.” Knowing he was defeated, Five took your hand and closed his eyes. His brows furrowed in concentration while his hands shone blue. You couldn’t help but squeeze his hands in slight fear. The two of you had done this before. Only teleporting though. You don’t think that you would get over the falling feeling that came with it. Somehow, time travel made the need to vomit at least one hundred times worse. 

You opened your eyes, when did you close them? You were in the same spot as before only, it was dark and raining. The light from the streetlights mixed with the occasional flash of lightning allowed you to make out the huge grin on Five’s face. It was infectious. He pulled you along in excitement as he continued to jump through time. The excited laughter that fell from your lips was soon cut short. A slight miscalculation in your step caused you to loosen your grip on Five. Right as he was using his power, you tumbled forward with nothing to grip onto. 

“Five!” You called out in alarm as he disappeared. You closed your eyes and pulled your arms and wings around you to break your fall. Everything went completely silent for a moment. It almost felt like you had been falling for forever. You couldn’t even hear yourself screaming. Were you even screaming? As bizarre as it was, it ended abruptly. Booming noise and the cries of confusion from someone met your ears. Then, you hit the ground and everyone froze. It was silent, but not as silent as while you were falling. 

“Can anyone else see little Number Five and Eight?” A slightly hoarse and confused voice asked. You needed to get it together, whoever was in front of you most likely knew your powers and they might want to fight. The sudden bright light that met you when you opened your eyes was blinding. You had you blink a few times while attempting to pull yourself to your feet. In your peripheral, someone had taken a step forward and you raised your shaking fists towards them. Everything was very blurry and you couldn’t get your body to stop shaking.

“(Name)?” Someone to your left was hesitant to say anything. It was familiar. Your… Brother? Yes. It was Five. He carefully made his way over to you. Blur clearing, you could just make out the look on his face. It was new, almost as if he was seeing a ghost. He looked older, despite not aging a day since you lost grip of his hand.

“Fi… Five?” You stuttered. Your voice was very shaky and it hurt to talk. Almost as if you haven't used your voice in a while. He didn’t waste a moment before pulling you into a tight hug. Your shaking figure couldn’t help but relax in his arms. Someone behind the two of you cleared their throat. Regaining your vision, you managed to make out five adults. The one clearing their throat was the biggest one. He _(?)_ looked uncomfortable and was standing in front of the others.

“Where the hell have you two been?” He, definitely he, asked with some form of authority. It reminded you of Luther. Five, helping you to your feet, answered for the two of you.

“Nice to see you too Luther.” Luther? But that was someone in their thirties? Luther was the same age as you… You could feel a pain in the back of your skull as you tried to wrap your mind around what was happening. Five helped you inside and you immediately felt yourself relax at the familiar building. You honestly never thought you would see it again. 

You must have zoned out because the next thing you knew, Five had set a half of a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich in front of you. You, Vanya and Five would always eat them together when Grace was helping Diego. As soon as you realized your hands were moving, you grabbed hold of the sandwich and practically shoved it down your throat. God you were so hungry. When was the last time you ate? Grace’s sandwich for lunch but that didn't add up. There was no way you would be this hungry after just eating. 

“Can I get some… Some water?” You coughed out, interrupting Five as he teleported around the room. Was he making a coffee? Vanya… Was that Vanya? Practically stumbled over her feet as she took a cup to hand to you. As she set the cup at your hand, your hand moved on its own. You took Vanya’s hand into your hand to examine it. It was without a doubt, Vanya. The calluses on her hands were the same, a little more pronounced. “Vanya?” You asked, everyone sucked in a breath. You let your eyes examine the others that surrounded you. You stated each one’s names as your eyes traveled over them. Luther, Diego, Alison, Klaus, Vanya. They were all so much older… 

“Five,” you had to take a deep breath to calm the impending breakdown, “ _ when  _ are we?”

  
  



	2. Time is Cruel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which reader catches up on all that they missed... Spoiler, it's a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should I be working on my finals? Yes... Am I actually going to? no :)

“(Name) where have you been?” Five asked you. 

“What do you mean?” You tilted your head at the question. “We were just time traveling and I tripped. I thought I lost you but here you are!” 

“Oh shit...” Five cursed. 

“What?” 

“(Name) it’s been fifty years for me.”

... 

“Five, stop joking around... It’s not funny.” You warned with a hiss. You could feel your feathers ruffling in anger? Fear? You couldn’t tell. Five only stared at you. 

He was serious. He was fucking serious. 

“So you’re... Sixty-something years old?” You stared into your hands. Hopefully you would be able to avoid the confused faces of your siblings around you. 

“Mentally yes.” He shrugged. You had to look up at him to see if he really was joking. Five only stared at you. Now that your vision was clearer, you could make out the true age that showed through his younger self. 

“What happened Five?” You honestly have no clue what to say... What could you say? 

“I made it to the apocalypse.” He replied like it was nothing. 

“You were there this whole time? Alone?” 

“Not completely.” You had no idea which question he was answering. “The apocalypse is in a week. You all die and I’m here to stop it.”

It took a moment of silence for it to set in. Your siblings around you had been watching the two kids with confusion. There honestly wasn’t anything that you could say. Instead you resorted to examining your  _ older(?)  _ siblings. Luther was huge. No way that lanky blonde little boy could grow so much?! Next was Diego. He looked so angsty and emo. Why was he wearing a... costume? Then Allison met your gaze. Although the two of you never talked, you were never on bad terms with her. Now though, she’d grown up to be drop dead gorgeous. How dare she get such good genetics. Klaus followed suit. He looked restless. Some part of him was always bouncing. There was no doubt that he was high. You weren’t surprised at that. If anything, you were sad. It hurt seeing one of your siblings drop so low. Vanya was the last person there. She looked so hollow. You couldn’t help but wonder if dad had excluded her. Had your siblings done the same? You and Five were some of the only people to include her. Five needed your convincing though. 

Where were the others? 

“Where’s Ben? Mom and Pogo? And Dad?” As soon as your voice broke the silence, an uncomfortable tension rose in the room. 

“Mom is upstairs.” Vanya started. She was cut off by Luther who crouched down to your level. 

“Dad just died. We think it was murder though.” 

“Don’t bring us into this. You think it’s murder.” Diego laughed at his brother. You were glad to know that they still acted the same. 

“Why would his monocle be missing then?”

“Maybe he misplaced it?” 

“Guys!” You cut through them. Unfortunately, their arguing was not what you needed at the moment. “Where’s Ben?”

“(Name)...” Alison started, no one else moved to say anything. Alison replaced Luther and took your hands into her own. The way she looked at you… it was exactly like Grace. As your mom, Grace always gave you this look after rough missions. No matter how injured you were, you would sit with your siblings and make sure that they got taken care of first. You could never quite place that look. It was somewhere between sadness, pity and comfort? “Ben isn’t here.”

“Well, you said that dad died. I’m not surprised by the way. When will he get here?” If they were having a funeral, there's no way that anyone would miss it. No matter how bad things had gotten. Klaus seemed to shift in discomfort. Five set his hand on your shoulder. Why was everyone so… Uncomfortable? Sad?

Wait.

“No. No fucking way.” You pulled yourself from the grasp of your siblings. You always knew that time travel would be weird. Disappointing even. But you never expected to lose one of your siblings. You could feel the stinging of tears pooling in your eyes. As much as you dreaded the answer, you had to know the answer. “How?”

At first, no one spoke up.

“How did Ben… Die?” You choked out the word. Dead. Saying it made it real. You could hear Klaus cursing under his breath. To your surprise, Klaus was the one to speak up.

“We were on a mission. It was a few years after you guys disappeared.” Trailing off, Klaus moved towards you and you broke. You ran up to your brother and pulled him into a tight hug. You were crying, his shirt and… Skirt? Were most likely, soaked. This was all too much. Five was alone for years, everyone is older than you, dad is dead, the apocalypse is coming and Ben died. What would’ve happened if you hadn’t gone with Five? Would Ben still be here? Was it your fault that Ben had died?

“I’m sorry!” You practically wailed to your siblings. “If… If I were there, he’d be okay.”

“Oh, honey…” Allison sighed. She rubbed a hand on your back to calm you. “It wasn’t your fault, or anyones. It was an accident.”

When did she get so damn motherly?

“You can’t look at what you could’ve done (Name),” Five said, “If time travel has taught me anything, it's that sometimes, you can’t change the past…” There was deeper meaning to his words, it was comforting to know that years alone in the future didn’t change your brother. He was still a cynical and secretive asshole. It was oddly comforting. 

“He would’ve been so happy to see you two.” Klaus stated as he loosened his hug. He seemed to.

“None of you were… Angry?” You asked. It was barely audible but Klaus let out a hearty chuckle. 

“Of course not (Name)!” Klaus said as he held onto your shoulders. “We were all just worried about you. Wondering when you’d both be back.”

The confidence in his words made warmth grow in your stomach. Although wanting to cry again, you held it back. Allison pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. 

“Come on, we’re going to spread dad’s ashes soon.” Changing the subject, Allison pulled you away from your siblings. She took your hand and led you towards the main stairwell. “You probably want to see Mom too.” Mom. Holy shit. Grace lost three kids. There's no way that she had taken that well. 

“Will Mom even want to see me?” You hesitated. What if it caused her to malfunction? After all, she can’t even feel emotions… 

“Don’t worry, Mom will be so happy to see you.” 

  
"Okay." 


	3. Quitting Always Ends in Gunfights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah its sad boi hours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shhhh I'm totally not avoiding my final assignment to post this...

  
  
  


Seeing mom again was weird. She definitely had some form of glitch. She was acting as if everything was fine. Like you had been away living on your own. Like your siblings had been. Knowing that your Mom hadn’t changed with everything else was somewhat unnerving. Yet, somehow, comforting? Pogo was similar. Just stating “Welcome home Miss (Name).” as you passed him with Allison. The slight cringe you felt at his words was very familiar. But you did what you always did. Pushed it deep down. If your sister had noticed, she didn’t say anything. Either way, the two of you made your way towards the courtyard. On your way, a question popped into your head.

“Allison,” you started your question. Allison hummed to show that she was listening, “are you a mom?” The question must have surprised her, because her breath hitched. Was that a touchy subject? You couldn’t help but wonder.

“How did you figure that out?” She asked.

“You’re treating me like Mom.” She huffed out a laugh and ruffled your hair.

“You’re the same old (Name) huh?”

“To be fair, it has only been a few hours since I last saw you.” You smiled softly before laughing along with her. “Five surprises me though He’s like sixty and still exactly the same as a kid.”

“I know right!” She snorted. It took a moment for the two of you to calm back down. You were almost outside, but you paused.

“What’s your kid’s name?” You asked.

“Claire.” She smiled. You practically could see the love flowing out of her eyes. The pure love she had, made you smile along with her. “She is the best thing to ever happen to me.”

With that. You both stepped outside. It was raining and a little bit chilly. You shuddered and hugged your wings to your sides. Almost everyone was outside already. You decided to leave Allison and join your brothers, Five and Klaus. Being just a tad bit shorter than Five, you joined him under his umbrella. As Grace, Pogo and Luther joined the group, things started to get started. To be honest, you weren't paying attention. Your mind drifted off as you examined the courtyard. You shut everything out when you realized that there was a new statue standing above everyone. 

“Ben…” You whispered to yourself. Klaus must have heard you because his shaking form froze and looked away.

“Shut up, I know.” He whispered something to himself before returning his attention towards the funeral. You didn’t care at the moment. The only thing that took you out of your head was yelling and Klaus protectively stepping in front of you and Five. Five looked agitated and bewildered at his brother. You only took hold of his outstretched arm once you realized that Luther and Diego were fighting. This was definitely not out of the ordinary. What was new however, was Diego flinging one of his knives at your huge brother, Vanya yelling at them to stop and Luther charging in anger. Of course, because everything had already gone wrong, Luther collided his fist with Ben’s statue. 

Your voice already shot, didn’t let you scream out, despite you lunging forward. Klaus’ arm was in the way. Stopping you from jumping in between the two men. After everyone calmed down, they all made their way back inside. With the exception of you and Klaus. You made your way up to Ben’s, toppled over, statue. Klaus made his way over to the sad pile of ash that used to be your father. You still couldn’t kill the guilt that gnawed away at you. Looking into the lifeless eyes of your brother’s statue you allowed yourself to sigh. 

“We all miss him.” Klaus sighed dramatically. You gave him a light punch to his side to which he laughed. Once again, Klaus looked over your head, then at you. “You two are so alike.”

“Are?” You questioned. Klaus, number four. He was able to commune with the dead. But there's no way that he would? “Klaus, you didn’t.” Klaus stared at you, almost as if he forgot who you were. He then, scowelled over your head again. 

“Shut up dude!”

“Klaus!” Your tone was very harsh. You loved the guy but he never took anything seriously. There was definitely some form of spirit here. 

“Fine.” He huffed in annoyance, or maybe embarrassment? If he didn’t want everyone to find out about the ghost of their dead brother hanging around, then why didn’t he hide it better? Did they all think he was just high? “I kind of, maybe, helped our dear brother out.”   
  
“He’s here?” You asked, deciding to ignore his overdramatic tone for now. Klaus only nodded before glaring at the ghost behind you. You followed his gaze and although you couldn’t see him, you teared up. “Ben?”

“He says hi.” Klaus says before groaning, _at your brother_. “What? You did say hi.” 

“He really is here.” You laughed through the tears in your eyes. 

“He says that it's great to see you again.” Klaus repeats what he had heard from the spirit, every ounce of drama had left his voice and was replaced by sincerity. “He never thought that he’d be able to see you and Five again.”

“Ben…” You started. It took a beat of silence for you to find the words to say to your invisible brother. “I’m so sorry. I should have been here. I would have been able to save you.” Klaus only shook his head and gripped your hands with a squeeze. 

“You wouldn’t have been able to do anything (Name). Don’t be sorry.” He said with a slight smile. “Besides, Ben’s not going anywhere. _He will always be here in spirit._ ”

Did he just…? 

Of course he did.

“Klaus, no!” You snorted at the pun. If you could see Ben, he would most definitely be rolling his eyes at your brother.

“Klaus yes!” Your brother said with a smile. You wanted to stay sad and angry. But, you just couldn’t. Klaus' constant endless attitude of nonchalance was infectious. Hopefully Ben was smiling along with you two. “Come on let's get back inside. As much as I love this skirt, its fucking freezing.” You sniffled and wiped your eyes with your blazer and followed your brother back into the warmth.

Five was around the corner waiting for you.

  
“We need to talk.”

  
\---  
  


“What happened after you let go of my hand?” Five asked as soon as you entered his old room. You plopped down onto his bed while he made his way over to his closet and leaned against the door.

“I fell,” you started before pausing. You had to think about it. You let your eyes slip shut before continuing, “it was dark. I couldn’t tell if my eyes were open or closed. I also couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t even tell if I was screaming or not. Hell I don’t even know how long I was in there!” You exclaimed in annoyance. Five sighed and plopped down beside you.

“(Name), I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.” Five held his head in his hands. How long had he been holding onto this? “I wasn’t even sure if I would see you again.”

“Five…” You put a hand onto his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “What happened right after you got to the apocalypse?”

“I tried to go back. Of course it didn’t work. I needed fifty more years to come up with a way to get back. So, I did the next best thing, I made my way back to the mansion.” he paused for a minute, lingering on a memory. “I found everyone in the rubble. Well, not everyone. You, Ben and Vanya were nowhere to be found. I found out why Ben wasn’t there after reading Vanya’s book. You on the other hand, I guess it was my leap backwards that pulled you out of… Wherever you were.” 

“I should’ve been there with you…” You sighed feeling the familiar bubble of guilt in your stomach rise again. “You shouldn’t have been there alone.” 

“What? No!” Five shot up in concern. “I went through so much shit. It's bad enough that you missed seventeen years of your life, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got stuck in that shit-hole with me.”

“That’s the whole reason I came with you.” You said with a sad smile. “I didn’t want you to get stuck in the future alone. Some help I was, huh?”

“I guess dad was right.” Five let out a slight chuckle and you followed suit. It took a moment for the two of you to collect your thoughts. 

“You said the apocalypse is coming. What causes it?” You eventually asked. 

“I don’t know.” Five stated with a shrug. He then pulled a small scrunched up handkerchief and threw it to you. You curiously opened it. “I think that has something to do with it.” Five sighed to himself, clearly deep in thought. You were surprised to see that a small glass eye fell into your hand. 

“Who’s eye is this?” You ask your brother. He only shrugs in response. 

“I think it belongs to the person who ends the world.” Five let out a grim sigh. “Luther was holding it when I... found him.” You could feel the heaviness of his situation radiating off of him. Now probably wasn’t the best time to be talking about the end of the world. 

“Hey,” you pulled Five out of his depression bubble. You gave him a smile of reassurance, “wanna go get donuts?” 

“That’s your response to all of this?” Five giggled at you and you nodded at him. 

“Hey, you just got back!” You exclaimed with a smile. “God knows how long it's been since you’ve had Griddy’s!”

“Fine, the coffee here is shit anyways.”

"Dad hated caffeine. Why are you surprised?"

Seventeen or so years and Griddy’s hadn’t changed a bit. The smell of day old coffee and stale donuts was oddly comforting. Five took a seat and you followed to his right. As soon as Five rang the little bell for service, an older man sat down on the other side of Five. He gave your wings a long stare before turning his attention towards Five as he reminisced about the _good ol’ days_. Poor guy was so confused. A couple moments later, a slightly older woman with a name tag that read “Agnes” made her way out of the back room. Agnes smiled at you and Five before moving to take the order of the man.

“Can I get chocolate milk or something for the kids?” She asked the man. Five only scoffed at the woman. She looked towards you and your wings “I love your little one’s costume by the way.”

“This kid wants coffee, black.” 

“Can I get a donut?” The contrast between your two answers caused both the man, and Agnes to look at each other in confusion. 

“Cute kids.” She smiled at the man.

One coffee and two donuts later, the man made his way out the door while five pondered the directions. It took another moment of the comfortable atmosphere for the hairs on the back of your neck to rise and feathers ruffle. Five must’ve noticed your unnese, because he whispered one word to you. 

“Agnes.” You nodded and leapt over the counter and into the back room. As soon as you made it there, gunshots rang out. Training kicking in, you dropped to the floor. Despite all the noise, you could hear Agnes gasp and close a door. She was safe, that's good. Now you only had Five to worry about. It didn’t take too long for the shots to grow quiet. Hoping five was okay, you opened the door to peek through.

“For all of your training, you really aren’t that stealthy.” Five stated sarcastically as you made your way back into the dinning room. It was in much worse condition than when you had left it. Dead bodies were scattered around the room and lights were flickering all over the place. 

“Jesus Five…” You huffed out as you surveyed the scene. He didn’t look hurt and Agnes showed no sign of coming out of hiding. “You were sure quick to take those guys out. Have you been training?”

“You could say that…” Five trailed off while examining a butter knife. 

“Who were they?” You questioned as you kicked one of the limp bodies.

“My old company.” Five pressed the knife into his wrist. “You could say that they don’t take quitting too well.” He hissed out a slight chuckle as he pulled a small blinking pill from the wound.

“And what’s that?”

“A tracker.” He smiled as he examined the device. “Let’s go, the police will be here soon.”

“Want me to fly us back?” You asked. Five definitely needed to treat that wound before it got infected.

“Fine, but not back to the mansion.” Five stood up and made his way towards the door. You followed closely behind and stretched your wings out in preparation. “I need to talk to Vanya.”

  
  



	4. Nostalgia for Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fallout at Vanya's apartment. Followed by Five's disappearing act!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT PEOPLE! 100 hits? Yall are awesome! 
> 
> I'm so happy to get the feedback and I hope you all had an amazing holiday season.
> 
> Thank you guys :)

  
  


Using Five for directions was easier than expected. To be honest, you had no idea how to get to Vanya’s apartment. You had even less of an idea as to how Five knew where Vanya lived. Clearly, there was a lot that you didn’t know about Five. 

“Hey,” You started as you looked down towards your brother. Part of your training and missions for your father were to transport your siblings. It definitely helped that Five hadn't grown like the rest of your family, “what did you do at that company?” Your question must have taken Five by surprise because he didn’t respond at first. This was a common thing for the two of you. Five had always been devoted to protecting his family. To the extent where he shut himself off. You wouldn’t allow him to pull that crap with you. If you wanted to support him, you always were there for him. 

“I worked with the time commission.” Five finally broke the silence. 

“Time commission?”

“Basically, they make sure that everything happens the way it should.” Five trailed off trying to think of how to describe the extent of his work. “It was all to get back here. To see everyone and to fix everything. I did horrible things (Name), but it was the only way.”

“Thank you.” Was the only thing you could think to say. “For telling me, I mean. You are so protective of us all. To the point where you push us out. I am so happy that you trust me enough to open up and let me help.”    
  


The rest of the trip was quiet. You were growing drowsy. Probably from the time travel and looming apocalypse. Eventually, Five led you into a small apartment building. You stretched and shook out your wings to loosen the muscles before folding them against your back to enter the building. Because Five insisted, the two of you let yourselves into Vanya’s apartment. The inside of the apartment screamed Vanya. Sheet music littered almost every surface. You immediately left Five in order to find some antiseptics and wipes to clean the huge cut on his forearm. 

Even as kids, Vanya was the most trained in first aid. Grace had taken it upon herself to teach all of you the basics. However Vanya was the one who excelled. If all this time had passed, and Vanya had continued with medicine as you assumed then she had to have an emergency kit somewhere. After a few minutes of searching, you were able to find it in the bathroom. You then made your way back to the main room where Five had sat down on a small chair. Setting the first aid kit on the couch beside Five, you motioned for five to roll up his sleeve. Despite being trained in first aid, you absolutely sucked at it. This was probably because of how tired you were. After a few minutes of Five hissing in pain and your hushed apologies, Five waved you away.

“(Name) I can take care of it,” he whispered as he set his hand on your shoulder, “you’re practically falling asleep.” Five didn’t have to tell you twice. You only nodded and rested your head on the side. It didn’t take long for you to pass out.

  
...   
  


“Five?” Vanya’s voice pulled you from your dreamless sleep. “(Name)?” You only groaned at the sudden disturbance. A light blanket was draped over you. You opened your eyes to meet soft beams of sunlight that filtered into the apartment. Vanya made her way over to you and scanned the main room. You moved your sight towards the chair where Five had been sitting. Vanya sighed out a “fuck, not again.” You pulled yourself up into a sitting position and cringed at the soreness in your right wing. You must’ve slept on it weird. 

“What time is it?” You yawned out the question. You couldn’t remember the last time you had such a nice sleep. 

“Seven.” She replied simply before sitting down beside you on the couch. “Do you know where Five went?” She asked, you shook your head and sighed. He always did this when he got stuck in his own head. “He’s probably back at the academy… Let’s get breakfast on the way there.”

You smiled at your sister as she made her way back towards the kitchen. She swallowed a few of her meds and moved to get changed. You were still in your umbrella academy uniform from the other morning. Albeit, now the skirt and blazer were wrinkled. Your father would be rolling in his grave if he saw you looking so disheveled. 

“Vanya,” you started as she made her way back into the room, “what did I miss out on while I was gone?”

“Nothing that you don’t already, to be honest…” She said with a sigh. “Klaus left first, was in and out of rehab numerous times. After Klaus, Diego went solo. Then Allison made her way into fame. I left and Luther was Dad’s number one. Then, he was sent up to the moon.” Vanya, now dressed in a large baggy flannel and jeans, sat back down beside you. “To be honest, nothing was the same after you both disappeared. Ben dying was the last nail in the coffin. We all were over it. I even wrote a book about it.” Vanya huffed out a dry laugh at the last part. Your eyes widened a bit in curiosity.

“Wait… A book? Vanya that’s great.” You smiled at her, Vanya didn’t exactly smile back. Was she embarrassed? “What was it about? Could I get a copy?”

“You probably wouldn’t like it.” Vanya rubbed her hands together in nervousness. “No one in our family liked it. I think they all hate me for it.” You raised an eyebrow. “It was about us, the academy, and me.”

Vanya took a moment for you to process. She then went into the details about how she wrote about everything. All of the family secrets. The juicy details of your siblings and father. Part of you wanted to congratulate her bravery. Another part of you wanted to criticize her throwing everyone under the bus. You had to mentally slap yourself to consider the fact that you hadn’t even read it. 

“I’ll admit, spilling all of the family secrets was crazy.” You chuckled imagining your fathers furious face as he read the summary of the book. Vanya, very nervous at your reaction, ended up smiling at you. “But, damn was it brave of you to do. I can’t help but imagine dad’s face when he got a copy.” With that, the two of you took a moment to laugh.    
  
“I missed you.” Vanya finally said after the two of you collected yourselves. She let out a light smile as you found yourself pulled into a side hug. “I used to leave the lights on for you. Just in case you and Five came back and thought we forgot about you.” You didn’t know what else to say, instead, you just tightened the hug.

The two of you made your way out to a tiny corner cafe before hailing a cab and heading off towards the academy. Once inside, Vanya called out for Five. As Vanya made her way up the stairs, you decided to take some time to look at how much things have changed. Unsurprisingly, pretty much nothing had changed. Your father loved having things orderly. You found yourself drawn to the fireplace. That was your favourite place to sit and read. Vanya would always be playing her violin to your right. 

There was no fire crackling today. Instead, you looked above, where a portrait of Five was staring back at you. That was new. Your moms humming from above was the only noise in the house. After a few seconds of staring at the painting, you shook your head. Knowing that your father was dead removed the huge dark cloud that often loomed above the house. Hopefully, everyone else felt it too. 

A sudden idea popped into your head; what is the one thing dad would never let you do? You chuckled to yourself at the thought. It was probably the same one that went through Klaus’ head when he and Ben first arrived for the funeral. The only stick-in-the-mud’s left were Pogo and Luther. Both of which were still in the house somewhere. You definitely wanted to do something but they would stop you. You sat yourself down onto the couch and put your thinking cap on. 

A few bad ideas later, Alison gave you a light flick onto your forehead. You hadn’t even noticed her approaching you.

“Hey!” You whined at your sister. She only shot you an amused grin. 

“What are you planning? That’s your scheming face.” Alison clearly wanted in. You hummed weighing your options. On one hand, Alison may have some good ideas. But, she would tell Luther anything. 

“Okay.” You finally caved at Alison’s pestering. “I didn’t think I’d come to a future where dad died. I want to do something that would piss off his ghost. But, I know that I’ll get in trouble. You can’t tell Luther! Or Pogo.” Alison got a devilish grin and pulled you to your feet. Maybe conspiring with her was a good idea. 

Alison pulled you into her room to tell you her idea. A pillow fort. You both brainstormed where it would be. Eventually, the target was the main entrance. Your father would have never allowed it. It was a perfect crime. The only issue turned out to be timing. Pogo was in your fathers study upstairs and would most likely roam around. Luther, on the other hand, left to go find Diego. 

At one point, Alison left you to make a phone call. You decided to begin collecting as many blankets and pillows as humanly possible. A little while later, Alison practically stormed back into the room. There was an awkward moment of silence before you spoke. 

“You uh. You okay?” 

“Yes. No... it’s complicated.” She huffed with a frown. 

“Let’s finish setting up this pillow fort and then you can vent to me.” 

“That sounds nice.” Alison smiled and you did the same. The two of you began construction. 

  
  



End file.
